“How long before we get there?” She didn’t even know where there was. Were they going to Paradise, or were they taking her uncles to their home as they had said they would? She bit her lip. Would they be welcome?
If the things she’d heard about the people living within the cascade were true, they didn’t allow strangers in their midst. How would Malik and Gabe explain how they came to bring them within their town’s ethereal walls?
“A few more hours.” Gabe wrapped his arm around her. “Lean against me. Take some of the pressure off your back.”
It wasn’t her back that worried her. It was something a bit lower. How could she remain sitting between them, smelling their unique scents without losing her mind?
“What will your people say about bringing strangers with you?”
“They won’t say a thing. Even if someone knows where to find the bridge, they cannot cross without the shamans opening the gate.” Malik glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road. “Our prince knows that we would never bring strangers who would harm our people.”
“I hope you’re right.” Carmen sighed. “I love my uncles and I don’t want to see anything happen to them.”
Chapter Twelve
Gabe squeezed Carmen, kissed the top of her head and gently shook her. “We’ve arrived, malysh. Time to wake up.”
He smiled when she woke, her sleep-filled gaze meeting his. “Where... where are we?” she swiped her hand over her face and sat up straight to look out through the windshield.
“We’ve reached the bridge,” Malik said as he shifted the car to park.
“I don’t see anything.” She turned her head. “It’s a parking lot.” She pointed to her right. “Does that say this is a museum?”
“Yes. It’s a maritime museum. Our people thought it a good idea to have something legitimate on this property to cover up for the fact that we periodically leave automobiles parked here. It would look strange to have laid a parking lot in the middle of a field and not have some sort of attraction to draw them.”
“Makes sense, I guess.” She shrugged. “And the bridge?”
“The elder will part the veil as soon as we make ourselves known, kotik.”
Mitch opened his door and slid from behind the wheel. “It is Gable and Malik. We wish entrance to the cascade,” he called into the darkness.
“Who do you bring with you?”
The booming voice told Gabe who guarded the bridge, though he couldn’t see the man.
“We bring our mate, her uncles, and those who would help us protect her, Maxim.”
“Maxim?” Carmen whispered as she moved to stand next to him.
“Maxim Volkov,” Gabe replied. “He is one of the elders. A shaman who usually doesn’t leave the cascade. He has no way to conceal his... injury.”
“That’s too bad.” Carmen cast her gaze toward her feet. “Everyone deserves a shot at finding someone to love.”
“You’re right. Everyone deserves that.” Gable could only hope that her concern stemmed from the fact that she’d finally started to believe that they were mates. He didn’t know what he would do if she wouldn’t agree to be with them. His tiger wanted her, almost as much as he did. Even though it knew they would never mate in animal form, just knowing she was near had calmed the beast considerably.
Maxim stepped from within the veil, seemingly from thin air.
Carmen gasped at the sight of the nearly seven-feet of striped male standing before her. His striped skin revealed on his bare chest. His muscles flexed as he showed the newcomers that he was not an easy target.
With a smile, Maxim presented them with a sweeping bow, giving them all a view of his striped back. “Do not fear, rybka, little fish. This tiger might still show his stripes, but he will not harm you.” Pausing, he raised a brow. “Without reason.” He glanced at the others. “The same is true for your companions.”
Turning, he waved his arms, chanting something in low tones as he brought his hands together over his head. When the chant ended, he opened his arms, parting the veil to show an inter-dimensional doorway to what appeared to be a world filled with waterfalls—the cascade.
Gabe and Malik led their group up onto the large platform on the other side of the opening. Maxim joined the group, closing the door behind them.
Taking a deep breath that expanded his striped chest to the point of rivaling the size of a huge barrel, Maxim forcibly exhaled, his breath propelling them across the abyss below, the bridge stretching behind them as the platform traveled in a giant arc and attached itself on the other side.
“Did we just fly?” Carmen grasped his arm as she glanced over the side.
“No,” Gabe said with a shake of his head. Chuckling, he patted her hand on his arm. “We rode the bridge across. It’s faster than walking and the veil isn’t left unguarded nearly as long.”
Carmen stared at the numerous waterfalls, her mouth open and eyes wide. “It’s beautiful!” Her tongue darted out, swiping her full lips. “Why would anyone ever want to leave here?” She glanced at her uncles, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. “Sorry.” She smiled and amended, “Other than for visiting family members whom you love dearly, why would you ever leave?”
“Believe me,” Malik replied, his eyes filled with the loneliness that Gabe knew was reflected in his own. “After spending several decades here, you get wanderlust—a taste for adventure.” He gestured toward Gabe. “Gable and I don’t need money. None of us in the cascade need it. There is no use for it here. However, now that our people have begun venturing out among humans, we find that we all have use for it.”
“When Malik and I set out to make a fortune for those who cannot move about humans except under certain circumstances, we never expected to be lucky enough to find our mate.”
“The jury is still out on that matter.” Carmen gave them a sideways glance as they stepped off the platform and onto a patch of thick, green grass.
“Perhaps for you, little one,” Mitch said as he followed them up the path toward town. “But a male knows his mate almost as soon as they meet.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I don’t believe you’re siding with them!” Carmen waved her arm in a wide arc. “I thought women had a choice. Here you are, telling me that they’re my mates just because they say so.”
“No, little one,” Mitch said. He took her by the shoulders and stared deep into her eyes. “I’m telling you that you are their mate. It is still possible that they are not yours.”
“But... but...” What if I want to belong with them?
If she refused them, would she ever find a man or a pair of men who would want her—love her? Did these two men love her? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course they don’t love you. They just met you. Their bodies might burn for you and demand release, but there is no way that they can feel more for you than any man feels for a woman they just met.
“We hoped that you might have dinner with us. Allow us to show you the cascade and to tell you of ourselves before you make your decision.” Gabe touched her arm. “It is not our way to force a female’s compliance.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “It’s most likely one of the reasons there were so few of us before the Russian government ordered our extermination.”
“Your government turned against you?”
“In a way. They ordered the destruction of the Caspian Tiger because humans had encroached on our habitat. Some of the humans were not model citizens and when our people retaliated for a few of them breaking our laws, the government stepped in and called for the eradication of our species.”
“It has happened before and it will, no doubt, happen again,” Malik added. “Humans are never happy with what they have. They always want more and they will do anything to get it. And they are almost always violent about it.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “For example, look at how many wars have been fought in the name of religion? For the Caspians, peace is its own
religion.
“We do not usurp others’ power and we do not lie to further our cause. Except when we must leave our home and walk among humans.” He grinned and waved back the way they came. “Take Maxim, for instance. He would lie to walk among humans during Halloween so that he could have a chance of finding a mate. But he would never lie to a prospective mate, nor would he lie to an enemy so that it would be easier to bring them harm. It’s not honorable, and any religion that claims their deity would justify such dishonorable tactics is not worth following. How could you trust such a dishonorable deity to give you what he promises?”
“You feel strongly about that, don’t you?” She admired them for their candor and for the fact that they would stand by honor over deception. Didn’t every woman want her man, or men, to be honorable?
“It is so deeply ingrained in us that I believe we are born to it. There is no choice for us. It is what it is and this is the way of it,” Gabe said as he led the way up a steep flight of stone steps.
“It’s not much, is it?” Wyatt said as they rounded the top and stared at the tiny town with its two restaurants, general store, and doctor’s office.
“Uncle Wyatt, how rude!” Carmen slapped the man’s arm. How could he be so disrespectful when Mitch and Gable had told them about their struggles? How had so many of them managed to stay alive against all odds?
“Considering that it’s all we have and we have lived here peacefully for the last hundred years, you would do well to keep such thoughts to yourself.” Malik glared at him.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just thinking aloud. Hell, my hat is off to you and your people. I’d go crazy if I had to stay here indefinitely.” Wyatt slapped Malik on the back. “Remind me to tell your prince that your people are welcome in Paradise no matter what time of year it is.”
“I’m sure he would appreciate the reminder, though he’s not here.” A large man stepped out from behind a huge, standing stone. He tilted his head for a moment, appearing deep in thought. “Maxim informs me that you have come with your mate?” The newcomer addressed Malik and Gable before turning his gaze on her. “Might this be your woman?” He smiled, his pronounced tiger’s incisors making him look more intimidating. “Welcome to the cascade. I am Viktor Andropov. Like Maxim, I am also an elder.” He swept his arm in a wide arc. “The countryside awaits you.” He winked. “I must tell you that your presence is much anticipated.” He glanced at Malik and Gabe. “The elders assigned you to go because they knew your travels would eventually lead you to your mate. Now, two more shall go in your place.”
“Wait a minute... what?” The stunned expression on Malik’s face was almost comical. “The elders knew?” His face reddened. He clamped his mouth shut, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
He was angry? How could he be angry that he’d met his mate?
“I thought...” Carmen took a deep breath. “I thought you were glad that you found me.” Her eyes burned and she cast her gaze to the ground. How could she have been so wrong about them?
Malik grasped her shoulders, bending to look into her eyes. “It has nothing to do with you, kotik, and everything to do with the fact that the mission they sent us on has put you in danger. That is why we are upset.”
Meeting his gaze, she stared deep into his deep blue eyes and saw his sincerity. The regret he felt for endangering her was palpable. Hell, she could even smell his anger and remorse.
“Now, I hope this puts to rest any doubt you have as to whether or not you’re our mate.” He smiled. “Why else would you be so upset to think that we didn’t want you?”
Carmen stared up at him, her mouth open.
Reaching out, Gable grasped her chin and pushed her mouth closed. “Indeed, my angel. Why else?”
Chapter Fourteen
“You said that most of you have... differences that make it difficult to walk among humans.” Carmen glanced around, obviously trying to find someone whose deformity was so obvious it would keep them a virtual prisoner here in the cascade.
“Yes I did.” Malik nodded. “You saw why Maxim cannot leave the cascade.” Many of their people were in a similar situation. At least he and Gable had been lucky enough to conceal their deformities.
“Actually, he could leave here.” Carmen looked up at him, her head tilted in the way that had quickly endeared her to him. “There are dozens, if not hundreds, of people out there who tattoo themselves to stand out. He would only appear to have had tattooed stripes on his skin.”
“People do that sort of thing?”
“Yes.” She chuckled when he raised his brow. “There are a few who have had tiger stripes tattooed on them, leopard spots. Some of them have even had tattoos to make them appear as though they have scales and...” She paused, shuddering. “They’ve had their tongues cut to give them the forked appearance of a snake.”
Malik shifted his gaze to her uncles. “This is true?” He glanced back at his mate’s raised brow. “It’s not as though I don’t trust you, malysh. It’s just that it seems so... so—” He threw his arms out to the side. “Odd.”
“Our world is odd.” Wyatt chuckled. “However, it is no less dangerous for our kind. We have many who would see us dead, just as you have had in the past. We were glad to discover that your kind had not perished after all. Though,” he said, gesturing to Carmen. “If either of you hurt our niece, you will be extinct. You can count on that.”
“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Viktor interrupted. “There is no reason for posturing. If the men say they are her mates, then they are her mates. The Caspian race is renowned for being able to find our mates from a distance. We are also the only tigers who mate for life, though our animal cousins do not.” He gestured toward the town behind him. “Now come, I will show you around the town while Malik and Gable get to know your niece.”
Thirty minutes later, they stood in the center of their living room, their hands in their pockets as Carmen wandered around their home.
“Is this it?” she asked as she came from the back where their bedrooms were located.
Each of them had a huge bedroom where they could go for privacy. However, they planned to share a room once they found their mate—if they ever found a female who would agree to be theirs.
“Yes. This is it,” he replied with a sigh.
She, no doubt, found them lacking. Theirs was a big home compared to those they saw in the human world, but they had no wondrous television or satellite radio. There were no bubbling bathtubs or microwave ovens. They didn’t even have electricity throughout their homes. If they didn’t need it, it didn’t exist in the cascade.
“It’s beautiful.” She smiled as she sauntered up to Malik and ran the tip of her finger from the center of his neck, down the line of his buttons to his belt buckle. “It’s almost as beautiful as its owners are handsome.”
She turned to Gable and did the same thing. “I think it’s time that we moved to the bedroom. Don’t you?” She gave them each a Mona Lisa smile and sauntered back the way she came. “Give me ten minutes to shower. I feel sticky.”
Gable turned to him, his face a blank mask. “It seems she has changed her mind about waiting three days. We cannot assert dominance over one another. In this, she must choose. Whichever bedroom she’s in is her choice for the first. Do you agree?”
“I agree,” Malik said with a nod. “What will the other do in the meantime?”
“If she is in your room, I will go to the river and jump in.” Gable grinned. “The water is freezing this time of year.”
“And I will do the same, should she choose your room.” He glanced back to the doorway before returning his attention to his best friend. “Shall we go see which bathroom she is using and find out which one of us is the lucky bastard?”
With a sharp nod of the head, they both strode to the hallway, each of them anxious to know who would be the first to have the honor of bedding their beautiful mate.
Chapter Fifteen
&n
bsp; Carmen stepped from the shower out onto the thick rug, glad that someone in the cascade had determined that hot water was a necessity. She didn’t know if she could have handled a cold shower after the last twenty-four hours she’d spent on the road.
They’d stopped at a restaurant just before they reached the maritime museum that was the front for the parking area used by the Caspian people. She was tired, but excited and she felt as though a layer of crud had covered her body. After all, she’d been stuck in a car for the last several hours lusting after two men, while her body overheated from their close proximity.
Her time at Oak Lake seemed like so long ago. It was almost in the realm of distant memory. So much had happened since she had arrived to find the job offer no longer valid. At the time, it had seemed as though her world had come crashing down on her, certain that she’d wasted her time driving all the way to California.
She glanced in the mirror and stared critically at her too common brown hair and brown eyes. Why couldn’t she have been more exotic looking? She could have been a blonde, or a red head with blue or green eyes. Instead, she had the most common hair color and the most common brown eyes. What would they see in her? How could she possibly keep their attention over the years?
Turning toward the door, she took a deep breath. They insisted that she was their mate. If that were true, they would be happy with the way she looked. They would be happy that her waist was just a little thick and her hips a bit too wide. If they loved her, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Her main worry was that they had just met. How could they possibly feel anything for her but lust? Hell, even she felt a healthy dose of that. So much for waiting three days, you hussy.
Taming The Tigers Page 5
